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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Odilia Roberts from the Derby Action Team on behalf of Francis English and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

Five of us brothers joined the Australian armed forces. My brother William and myself (My No VX30613) in the Second Eighth Field Artillery, he became a sergeant, and became person of war to the Japanese, captured in Singapore — I don’t need to go into details of their fate, one still lives! His granddaughter after great effort got him to allow her to write a book!

After us five joined in 1940 my second brother, a golf professional at Rosanna Golf Club Victoria Australia, saved up to pay my mother’s and my passage back to Buxton, England where she was born, my father a Highland Bugler in the Light Infantry. We all wanted to fight for our mother country. As the war broke out our passage to England was cancelled. My dear mother died of a broken heart, as I was on my final leave. She was buried on the 11/11/1940. I sailed for the Middle East into battle at El ‘Alamein, North Africa. I was a linesman, William, my dear brother, was in the observation post in sight of the enemy at all times, he was with Tuloc Llewellyn Roberts, later chief of police at Bathery Point, Tasmania. A wonderful soldier and a dear friend! I was on the saltpan at El ‘Alamein mending phone communications, a German ‘messerschmitt’ landed quite near me. I have no idea why! A very very young pilot stepped out and, in perfect English, said to wounded soldiers not to touch anything or you will kill all your comrades; it was a new type and had machine guns in the plane’s wings. The ?????? ???? lot of destruction from this plane!
The young pilot of course became a prisoner. I went on with my job, I’m afraid I stepped out of line, the enemy, Italians I think, were beaten back and left a large truck on our lines, I was short of phones, being destroyed by bombs and shell damage, it was a warning to leave such untouched for fear of booby traps. In that truck there was wonderful equipment, a wireless in direct touch with Berlin that I just reported, but as great luck captured six telephones, I heard nothing more about that. I got my phones and that’s all I wanted.

At one time our headquarters was in a beautiful building, it had been the Governor’s home until we took over. At that time I was waiter in the Officers’ mess, Colonel Tinsley would not be served by anyone else but me, I was thrilled at that, but sadly we and the area were bombed every night, but one just gets used to that!
The bay and surroundings was a really beautiful place (Anthony and Cleopatra spent some time there I believe — but not whilst we were there, of course). We slept in dugouts but the creepy crawlies were a constant pest, however, I don’t know why I’m telling all this story, after all I was an Australian, but when we first came up from Cairo the British forces were going to Alexandria away from the fighting! They had a lot of casualties and a loss of guns and tanks. They wished us good luck. We were going up to fight. My officer, Geoff Harris, took us for a swim in the Mediterranean as we were all very dirty, but there is a deadly current in sections of the Mediterranean Sea, Geoff being a powerful swimmer saved the lives of nine Gunners, with the use of gun ropes and chain gang efforts.
His voice broke once giving gunfire orders, I'm proud to say I helped and bawled for him (one had to yell orders to fire), we had 25 pounders.
He still writes to me after all these years. What a great soldier!!

Oh I forgot to mention, when at ????????? if possible we could go swimming in that beautiful bay. We could look away to our left and see the German soldiers doing the same thing, unbelievable isn’t it. I once went with a friend to look at a German ‘Storka’ plane we had shot down. I found a dreadful sight, a pilot’s helmet with a head of golden curls. I felt great sadness at that sight believe me! Why! Why! Quite a lot of German forces were mere boys, 14 and 15 years old. Well this is war, isn’t it?

The battle of El ‘Alamein was the beginning of the end, twelve hundred guns at once fired into the German lines.

Australian sappers used what they called ‘sticky bombs’, they were like a large light bulb on a handle loaded with a high explosive and had to be smashed by hand onto the German tank to stick to the target, which would be destroyed completely and all soldiers in it. As the German army was in retreat we, the Aussies, had to return to Australia as the Japanese were shelling and trying to invade our country. They got as far as Sydney’s coast.
I am sure that we would have lost the war if it hadn’t been for Allan Turin and the like — he broke the German submarine code, until then the enemy was destroying our shipping and us (British).
I have a wonderful story of ‘Antis’ — One Man and his dog - I have his photo. He received the Victoria Cross for saving many lives during bombing raids on London. He flew with his master on many bombing raids on Germany. He and Captain Jan Bosdeck, his master, were shot down twice that I know of, once into the Mediterranean Sea, they were never to be parted and they were together for well over 13 years.

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